Intelligent Combination
by ghostlyTrickster
Summary: Shikamaru had always been attracted to Sakura, she was one of the few ninja's who were almost as intelligent as he. When they were genin, Ino once told her that he had a crush on her. But he never said anything, never made a move. He was too lazy, too unmotivated. But what happens after Sakura spends a day with him and realizes she may be attracted to him also?
1. Chapter One: A New Beginning

The sun was bright and the breeze was strong this particular day in the Hidden Leaf. The last few weeks the village had a lack of missions and contracts, giving the Leaf Shinobi a well deserved break. Today, was Shikamaru Nara's first day off in weeks and he was enjoying every second of it. He was just on his way to meet Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen for lunch.

He slowly made his way to the ramen shop, greeting various residents and fellow shinobi along the way. "Man... so glad to finally have a chance to breathe. Tsunade has been riding us all into the dirt before the shortage of missions..."

Shikamaru arrives at Ichraku Ramen and takes a seat. Not even five seconds later, Naruto bursts in and smacks Shikamaru on the back while taking a seat next to him.

"Shikamaru! What's up buddy! How's your day off going?" Naruto laughs while raising a hand to order a bowl of ramen."  
Shikamaru scowls for a moment and then breaks a soft smile. "Good Naruto, even with your obnoxiousness." Shikamaru chuckles and also orders a bowl.

Ayame brings them both cups of sweet tea. "So... got a girlfriend yet Shikamaru...?" Naruto says sarcastically.

"No... I do not..." Shikamaru takes a sip of his tea.

Naruto lets out a muffled laugh. "Yeah, I knew you wouldn't be able to land a girl."

Shikamaru takes another sip of his tea and then smiles wryly. "First off, don't act like your such a hot commodity yourself. From what I recall, you don't have a women to call your own either."

"Yeah, well, at least I dated Ten Ten for a bit. What about you? I have yet to see you get a girlfriend." Naruto smiles and sips his tea.

"That you are aware of."

"What...? Who?"

"Remember when I was Shizune's assistant for a week?"

"You didn't... no way!"

"Yes way. She may not have been my girlfriend but we did indeed have a fling." Shikamaru smiles while putting one hand on his face.

"Lair! She's like thirty isn't she? I mean, she's hot but..." Naruto's expression is one of confusion. "No way she's go for a guy like you, your like, sixteen dude."

"Some women like younger men, Naruto. Besides, there is nothing wrong with older women. They're... more refined."

Naruto looks jealous. "Damnit... you're such a bastard, Shikamaru. You're always one step ahead of me..." Ayame places their ramen in front of them.

"Enjoy!" Ayame says with a large smile.

Naruto and Shikamaru nod and thank Ayame. "Thanks" "Thank you"

Naruto whispers: "So how was it...?"

Shikamaru chuckles. "Indescribable, Naruto."

They eat and chat for about fifteen minutes. Naruto down's three bowls of ramen to Shikamaru's one. They pay the bill and exit "Ichiraku". Just as they do, Sakura calls out, running toward them. Her face was bright and her smile radiant. She had been wearing her medical uniform and her hair is tied up in a bun.

"Hey! You guys!" Sakura runs up to them. "Just the people I was looking for!"

"Hey Sakura! What's up?" Naruto laughs and puts his hands behind his head. Shikamaru looks as uninterested as always.

"We're short handed at the hospital, so Tsunade told me to find you two."

Shikamaru lets out a disagreeing grunt. "Damn it, today was supposed to be my day off..."

"Don't worry, it'll be easy work. Just simple stuff me and Shizune just don't have enough time to do ourselves."

Naruto nudges him and whispers. "Hey, might be your day _**on** _if you're helping Shizune... heh-heh-" Naruto's laughs is interrupted by an elbow to the stomach. "Shut up, you idiot..."

Sakura looks puzzled. "O-kay...? Well... one of you should come with me and the other should meet up with Shizune at the "Hokage's Mansion. So who's going where...?"

Shikamaru and Naruto look at each other. "I'll be going with you Sakura."

Naruto looks dumbfounded. "What...? Why not help Shizune...?"

"Because I don't want to, Naruto..."Shikamaru walks toward Sakura.

Naruto looks kind of agitated. "You never want to do anything... Sheesh... whatever, fine..."

Sakura, still looking puzzled, begins to walk away. "You guys are acting kinda off... Anyway... c'mon Shikamaru, let's go..."

The two of them head for the hospital while Naruto goes to the "Hokage's Mansion". During they're walk, which takes about ten minutes, they chat and just make small talk. When they arrive at the hospital, Sakura checks in with the receptionist. They chat for a few moments while Shikamaru stares lazily out the window. Thinking to himself: "Man, such a drag... I could be home relaxing... or napping..."

Sakura pokes him in the side. "Hey, you there...? We gotta go to my office on the third floor."

"Office? **_You_ **have a office...?"

"Yes, smart ass... I do. Come on, let's go."

They ascend to the third floor and enter her office, Sakura immediately sits down at a desk that is against a wall, with a window just above it. There are three other desks in this medium size room, two across and one beside. Shikamaru walks over and leans against the wall beside her desk. She shuffles through some paperwork. "Where... are they...?"

Shikamaru yawns and crosses his arms. "What are you looking for...?"

Sakura gets up and walks over to the desk across from her's and begins rummaging through papers. "Some medical reports of a specific patient we'll be helping today. Where... the hell are they?" Sakura moves a stack of papers and accidentally knocks them off the desk. "Damn it!" She bends over and start collecting the documents. Shikamaru unintentionally gets a glimpse up her skirt and sees her tight, red boy shorts. Shikamaru blushes and turns his head but his eyes wander back to her figure. He blushes softly. "D-damn..."

After about a minute, she finishes picking up the papers, finding the one she wanted in the first place. "Found it!" She turns around and walks over to Shikamaru. "Okay then... we will be attending to a young, female genin who..." Her voice lowers. "...suffers from a muscular disease. She has to come in weekly so her muscles don't... deteriorate." Sakura looks sad for a moment. "Anyway... You'll need to put on some medical fatigues, okay?"

Shikamaru looks slightly bothered by her sad expression. He sighs deeply. "Okay, fine. Where do I get them?"

"In the locker room. Follow me."

They walk down the hall and take a right to the locker rooms. Shikamaru enters and a few minutes later, exits wearing a medical uniform. "I'm not wearing that hat, it's so lame."

"Fine, fine... Let's just got check on our patient." They take a few steps before Sakura starts talking again. "Oh, if you don't half ass things today, I'll share my lunch with you, okay? I made it myself." She giggles and smiles softly.

Shikamaru rolls his eyes. "Ugh, alright. I guess I won't complain about a free lunch..."

"Your such a punk, Shikamaru." Sakura giggles again. "Come on, it won't be that bad.

_**End Of Chapter One!**_

_**I hope you enjoyed things so far. I will be updating as often as possible. Please leave feedback and don't be shy to send me your opinions! I would love to hear them!**_


	2. Chapter Two: Breaking The Ice

Shikamaru and Sakura make their way to the patients room. Sakura informs Shikamaru that the patients name is Tezuya, and she is fifteen. When they enter the room, they see a short, red haired girl wearing a hospital gown. She is sitting on the bed, kicking her legs. Sakura approaches her, holding a clipboard and a container of blue medicine.

"Tezuya? Are you ready for your treatment? " Sakura glances at her clipboard.

The girl looks over, and her legs stop. She lets out a large sigh. "Yeah... I guess so... I hate this so much..."

Sakura walks over to her and sets down the clipboard. She puts her hand on her shoulder. "It's alright dear. It'll only take a few minutes.

Tezuya looks at Shikamaru. "Hey! I know him! He's the proctor from the Chunin Exams last year!

Shikamaru, who was mid-yawn, raises an eye brow and looks at the girl. "Huh...?" Shikamaru takes a second to think back. "Oh... wait... I think I remember you..."

Tezuya jumps up, standing on the bed. "You were the one who saved me in the forest of death! Remember, you used your shadow jutsu to stop that Cloud ninja from killing me! You're so cool! I mean, I could've handled it myself, but..."

Shikamaru rubs his shoulder. "Yeah right, I remember now. That was a tough year. Your lucky I was around."

The girl begins ranting on about the chunin exams and after a few minutes, Shikamaru interrupts her, in a stern voice.

"Tezuya, we have to give you your treatment. Please relax and sit back down." Tezuya, looking slightly scared by his sterness. "O-O-OKay... S-sorry..." She sits down, her legs do not continue to kick. Sakura looks at Tezuya with a saddened look. "You didn't have to be so rude, Shikamaru." Sakura says in a annoyed voice.

Tezuya holds up one arm. Sakura pulls a syringe out and fill it with the blue medicine. "Okay Tezuya, get ready for it." Sakura slowly raises the syringe to Tezuya's arm and slowly injects the blue liquid. She flinches and her expression is one of serious discomfort. She lets out a muffled moan of pain. "Eurgh!"

Sakura comforts her by holding her hand. "It's okay, I'm here hun."

Shikamaru just watches in silence with a indifferent expression. "..."

After about a minute, Sakura pulls out the needle. "Okay, here's the second part, just hold on." She begins to use a special healing jutsu on Tezuya and her veins glow softly blue under her skin. Tezuya flinches. "So c-cold!"

Shikamaru walks over and sits next to her. He puts one hand on her back. "You're alright. Just take things easy."

After about five minutes, Sakura's ends the treatment. Tezuya shakes her head in discomfort. "I hate how this medicine feels!" Sakura also sits down next to Tezuya. "Don't worry, you're done till next week. You'll be able to go home in a few hours."

Tezuya looks at Shikamaru, and blushes softly. "T-thanks for comforting me, Shikamaru-Senpai." Shikamaru brushes it off in a nonchalant way. "It was nothing." He gets up and yawns. "Are we done here?"

"Yeah yeah. Just hold on a minute." She writes down a few things on her clipboard. "Okay, we're ready to go Shikamaru. We'll see you later today when I give you your discharge exam."

"Okay. By Shikamaru-Senpai!" Tezuya waves boddbye. Shikamaru and Sakura exit into the hall way. Shikamaru lets out a deep sigh, and stretches.

"So what now?" "We'll be making a few rounds to some other patients and then you'll be helping me file some paper work after lunch." Not even a second later, he lets out a groan. "We'll let's get started shall we?" Shikamaru begins walking down the hall. Sakura follows and walks beside him.

"You know, she was really taking a shining to you, Shikamaru." "Yeah, and...?" "Well, so far your doing a pretty good job as my assistant." "Yeah yeah, if you say so." "I do. I think your really compassionate on the inside, you just hide it with a cool, lazy exterior. Kind of mysterious." Sakura giggles. "So why don't you have a girlfriend, Shikamaru. Women love that kinda thing. Tough on the outside, sweet on the inside."

Shikamaru lets out a sigh and puts his hands behind his head, ignoring her comments. Sakura scoffs. "Don't just ignore a lady when she's talking to you." Shikamaru looks at Sakura. "Because women are pains in the asses." Sakura slaps him on the back of the head. "See, exactly my point." "Smart ass."

The day slowly goes on, Shikamaru complaining every step of the way. The entire time Sakura and Shikamaru chat and learn bits and pieces about each other. Mainly just small talk about hobbies, family, and entertainment. At about noon, Shikamaru and Sakura return to Sakura's office, leave a stack of paperwork on her desk. They walk down to the first floor and enter the cafeteria. They take a seat at a table in front of a window. They exchange a few words before Sakura leaves and returns moments later with a box lunch in a red handkerchief.

She sits down and opens the lunch to reveal Umiboshi (pickled plums) and Onigiri (rice balls). She smiles and hands Shikamaru some chop sticks. She giggles and eats some of the plums. Shikamaru eats one and his face turns to a sour expression. He struggles to swallow it. "Well, I've never had these before..."

Sakura looks displeased. "Oh come on, they're not that bad." "They're just not my... thing." Sakura giggles. She excitedly eats more of the Umiboshi while he eats some of the Onigiri. After about thirty minutes in a slightly awkward silence, other than small talk and Shikamaru thanking Sakura. At the end of lunch, they return to Sakura's office and begin filling out some paperwork. After the last few hours creep by, Sakura, hesitantly, asks Shikamaru something.

"Hey, uh, Shikamaru. You have tomorrow off also?" "Yeah, I do. why?"

Sakura looks away for a second and then looks back. "Do you want to hang out or something?" Shikamaru looks confused. "You want to hang out? Where?" Sakura looks kind of flustered. "I don't know. Do you want to or not?"

Shikamaru laughs. "Yeah. We can hang out. Not sure why you'd want to, but okay. Where we going to meet?"

"Uhm. How about... we meet at the river that runs through the village. The bridge in front of the east gate sound good?"

Shikamaru yawns. "Sure. why not." "Okay. Well, it's about time to turn in for the day. I'm gonna go give Tezuya her discharge exam. You can head home, okay?"

"Yeah, alright. Well..." Shikamaru gets up and stretches. "Well, alright. I'll be seeing you tomorrow. See you Sakura."

Shikamaru exit and a small, wide smile crosses Sakura's face.

_**End Of Chapter Two!**_

_**I hope you enjoyed things so far. I will be updating as often as possible. Please leave feedback and don't be shy to send me your opinions! I would love to hear them!**_


	3. Chapter Three: Guys Night Out

After changing and leaving the hospital, Shikamaru spent most of the day lounging around the Hidden Leaf. At about nine p.m. he was invited to get something to eat with Neji, Lee, Kiba, Shino, Naruto, and Choji. They decided to meet at a popular barbecue restaurant. At about nine-thirty, they all arrived and took seats in a large, corner booth. The restaurant had been rather busy tonight. The conversation starts with Neji and Kiba talking about women.

"Yo, Neji, how are things with with Ten Ten? You been dating her a while, right?" Kiba raises a hand to try and get a waitress's attention.

"Yes, nearing on six months I believe."

"Damn, never expected you two to actually date."Kiba smirks. "I always figured you were too much of a tight ass to have a girlfriend."

Neji smirks back. "Well, I do admit, it was an unexpected event. But I do enjoy the comfort of a woman's company now and again."

Kiba smiles more. "We thought you were "batting for the other team" if you catch my drift." Kiba laughs and Neji gives him a no-nonsense look.

Shino is dead silent, Lee and Naruto seem engrossed in a conversation about training and fighting. Shikamaru is listening to everyone with a relaxed, but mildly happy expression. Shortly afterward the waitress comes over and takes everybody's orders. They get the group special and everyone decides on some sake to make the night a bit more fun, except for Naruto and Lee. Being a chunin rank or higher signifies you as a adult if you are under the age of twenty. Naruto is only a genin, and Lee is a bit violent when he drinks.

The night goes on, everyone trading funny stories and drinking. When the meat arives, they begin to cook it on the in table top grill. Luckily, Choji has plenty of experience with barbecuing. As things go on, Shikamaru and Neji drink a bit more than the others, and become rather tipsy. As Shikamaru drinks, he becomes more talkative, and Neji relaxes and is not as serious as usual. Eventually, everyone that is drinking has a few more than they should, and start sharing some rather personal stories. Shikamaru just finished bragging about his "encounter" with Shizune.

"Yeah, so that's how it happened." Shikamaru laughs and leans his head on one of his hands and then takes another sip of Sake.

"No way dude. Shizune's way, way too hot for you." Kiba is smirking, struggling to hold his head up.

"Yes way man. I swear. Whatever, what about you guys, any of you guys do anything "unscrupulous" of the sort. No need for Lee or Naruto to answer that one."

"Hey!" Naruto looks frustrated. "Whatever."

Lee looks puzzled. "I once did fifteen-hundred sit ups instead of two-thousand!"

A awkward breeze flows by. Shikamaru and Kiba face palm. "Not like that you idiot. I mean like..." Shikamaru makes a sexual gesture with his hand. "You know, women." Lee looks confused, but figures out after a second. "Oh! No, not really."

Kiba laughs and takes another sip of sake. "Yeah, we all knew that."

Neji smirks. "Me and Ten Ten have, done some activities of the sort."

Shikamaru bursts into laughter. "You give her your "cadet branch"?"

Everyone except Neji and Shino laughs loudly. Naruto pounds on the table.

"What's funny about that? I do not get it."

Choji lays his head on the table. "Good one Shikamaru."

Shortly afterward, the group pays the bill and leaves. Shino and Lee head home. It's about eleven p.m. They wander down the street, stumbling and being over all obnoxious. They eventually run into Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Ten Ten, who seem to be having a "girl's night out".

"Hey boys, what are you up to?" Sakura says with a small smile.

"Nothing. Just figuring out what to do next." Shikamaru hiccups.

"Uh... have you guys been drinking?' Ino asks.

"Hell yeah! Except Naruto, who's still a genin!"

"Damn it Kiba! Shut up!"

Shikamaru drunkenly hugs Sakura. "Thanks for sharing your lunch with me today Sakura..."

Sakura blushes. "Uh, no problem, Shikamaru. Are you okay?"

"Of coarse I am. I'm just really grateful." Shikamaru hugs tightens.

"Is he always like this?" Sakura asks.

Choji answers. "Yeah, he just gets really huggy when he's drunk."

After few seconds, Shikamaru lets go.

"Uh, Sakura? Don't we have to m-meet Tsunade soon?' Hinata asks nervously while glancing at Naruto.

"Oh, that's right! Sorry boys! We got to cut this short. See you tomorrow!"

Neji kisses Ten Ten good bye and the groups part ways. Shortly afterward, Kiba nudges Shikamaru.

"Heh-heh. Got a think for Sakura, do you?"

Shikamaru laughs. "Hell, I don't know. I don't even know where we are right now."

Naruto laughs. "I think it's time for you to go home Shikamaru."

"I think..." Shikamaru almost falls over by tripping on his own foot. "...that you are right."

Choji supports Shikamaru. "Come on buddy. I'll take you home

"Shikamaru laughs. "It was fun guys. Let's do this again sometime soon."

Kiba looks at Naruto. "Alright, but Naruto here better stop screwing around so he can be a chunin and drink with us."

Naruto looks slightly mad. "Hey! I'm stronger than all of you! I'm just..."

"Shikamaru finishes his statement. "A moron?"

Everyone laughs and they part ways. Choji takes Shikamaru to his house. he walks him into his bedroom. His father, Shikaku, is awake still. He walks into Shikamaru's room with them.

"Take it you had fun son?"

Shikamaru snickers and mumbles. Choji lays his down and he almost immediately passes out.

Shikaku laughs. "Thanks for making sure he got home safe, Choji."

Choji smiles. "No problem. Shikamaru can't really handle his sake like me and the others can. Choji and Shikaku exit Shikamaru's room and close the door behind them.

The next morning Shikamaru wakes up with a massive headache. He wanders into the bathroom and relives himself. As he returns to his room, his mother, Yoshino, says good morning and says she made his breakfast. Shikamaru wanders back to the kitchen and eats with his mom. Afterward he showers, get's dressed in a long sleeve t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up and some casual pants. He remembers he has to meet Sakura at the bridge today. He spends a few minutes getting ready and leaves.

_**End Of Chapter Three!**_

_**I hope you enjoyed things so far. I will be updating as often as possible. Please leave feedback and don't be shy to send me your opinions! I would love to hear them!**_


	4. Chapter Four: New Team Kakashi

Shikamaru makes his way to the bridge, but still has two hours to spare. He decides to go and get some tea and dumplings. There just happens to be one over looking the bridge he is supposed to meet Sakura at. On his way there, he runs into Naruto, Kiba, Hinata, and Ino. They seem to be wandering around, trying to find something to do.

"Hey Shikamaru!" Naruto blurts out loudly and runs over to him. "What you up to, buddy?"

Shikamaru has a curious look on his face. "Nursing a hangover from last night."

Kiba laughs as he walks up. "I know how you feel man." Ino and Hinata follow Kiba.

"What are you doing today, Shikamaru?" Hinata asks curiously.

"Oh. I'm supposed to hang out with Sakura. Then I don't know what. Maybe go out with the guys again if everyone's up for it." Shikamaru lets out a deep yawn.

Kiba laughs and smirks. "Finally getting yourself a girlfriend, huh, Shikamaru?" He pats him on the back. "About damn time!"

Ino bursts into the conversation. "Wait! You're dating billboard brow?"

Shikamaru shrugs. "Not really. Just hanging with her today."

Naruto laughs. "Yeah, no way a girl as cute as Sakura would date Shikamaru."

Shikamaru scowls. "What do you mean by that? Women like intelligent men. I just prefer to spend my time relaxing and free rather than catering to a woman."

Ino nods her head. "That's why you're single Shikamaru."

Shikamaru just shrugs again. "Ehh."

They chat for a few minutes and then Shikamaru tell them he was going to go get tea and dumplings and the entire group decides to tag along much to Shikamaru's dismay.

They arrive and take a seat near the windows that overlook the bridge. They get situated and begin just chatting about recent events. The server takes their orders and everyone just orders sweet tea and leaf dumplings. After an hour and a half, the group pays the bill and Shikamaru head down to the bridge and sits around waiting for Sakura. Shortly afterward, Kakashi approaches Shikamaru.

"Hey, Shikamaru, what're you up to?"

Shikamaru, who was leaning over the bar looking out into the water, stretches. "Waiting for Sakura. We're supposed to hang out today."

"Hmm. You, Sakura, and Naruto seem to really be getting along."

"More or less, yeah."

"Well, ever since Sai started working more with "The Foundation", we still need a fourth member for "Team Kakashi", and in a few weeks we're expected to receive a large amount of missions. Some going out of the "Fire Country". Since you three are friends, I'd like you to join Team Kakashi."

Shikamaru looks slightly interested, but this expression quickly fades. After a few seconds of silence, and a deep sigh and groan. Shikamaru replies with: "Yeah, sure. Why the hell not." He sighs again. "I can already tell this is gonna be a pain in the ass."

Kakashi chuckles and smiles. "I can already tell you're going to be a valuable asset to the team."

"If you say so."

"I know so, you're very intelligent and a good leader. Your not half bad company either."

Shikamaru groans. "Thanks, I guess."

"Alright, well I think Sakura should be here any minute. I'll leave you alone. See you later."

Kakashi leaves and Shikamaru leans over the railing, waiting for Sakura. Five minutes later, he feels a hand on his back. "Hey Shikamaru, how are you feeling?"

He turns around to see Sakura in casual clothing. A red t-shirt and a pair of tight, black shorts. She seems to have a small, but still noticeable, amount of make-up. Shikamaru smiles.

"I see you're wearing make-up. Trying to impress somebody?"

Sakura get's slightly red and flustered. "No! I just wanted to try something new." After a few seconds pause. "You're such a pain in the ass." Sakura giggles.

Shikamaru smirks. "That's my thing, if you haven't noticed. So what do you wanna do today?"

Sakura thinks for a few seconds. "I'm not quite sure. Maybe we could... just walk around the village and talk?"

"I suppose. If anything else comes to mind, just say so." Shikamaru begins to walk across the bridge and Sakura walks beside him.

"Did you have fun with the boys last night? I saw you were drinking a bit."

Shikamaru laughs. "Yeah, I still have a bit of a headache from that. It was fun though. Seeing the guys unwind."

"I'm sure it was. You guys seem liked you were having a ton of fun."

"We were, except for Lee and Naruto. Naruto's still a genin and Lee shouldn't really drink. He's s such a drag when he does."

She laughs. "Yeah, I've heard."

They have made it to the end of the bridge and are now walking toward the main street of the village.

"So did Kakashi talk to you lately?"

"Yeah, actually just before you arrived. I will be joining "Team Kakashi" one the missions pick up. It's going to be a drag, but oh well."

"Heh-heh, you'll have fun. Don't worry. Even if you are a lazy ass, we'll be there to help."

"I hope so. I don't want to be the only one doing any work." Shikamaru chuckles. Sakura slaps his back playfully. "Yeah, we'll see how useful you are once we get the missions started, Mr. Hotshot."

He smiles and they begin walking down main street. It is very busy.

"So have you decided on what we should do today?"

"I'm still not sure. How about we get some soda or tea and keep walking?"

"Sure. I don't see why not."

They stop at a vending machine and buy a couple of drinks. They walk toward the "Hokage's Mansion", which can be seen all along main street.

"So how are thing's being in a team with Naruto going to be?"

Sakura smirks a bitter sweet smile and looks playfully frustrated. "A handful, that's for sure."

"That bad? Don't you keep him in line?"

"I try to, but he's too thick-skulled to listen."

"Well, as long as I'm with someone as smart as yourself, I think I will be able to handle."

The streets become extremely busy near the "Hokage's Mansion" during this time of day. It is right next to the shopping district.

"Uh, Shikamaru, I'm gonna walk in front of you, since it's so crowded."

Sakura steps if front of him and they keep walking. She outs her hand back toward him. "Want... to hold my hand?" Sakura blushes very slightly, as if she's trying not too.

Shikamaru sighs and holds her hand. "Alright."

They keep walking and when they eventually make it out of the crowd, they walk side by side again. They keep going for about five minutes in silence.

"Uh, Sakura... You're still holding my hand."

Sakura blushes. "O-oh. S-sorry about that."

After a few seconds of silence, Shikamaru replies. "I... didn't mid too much."

Sakura smiles but hides it from Shikamaru. "I'll... remember that."

The rest of their walk is strangely silent. Both of them seem to be somewhat embarrassed. They eventually end up at the "Hokage Stone Faces".

"Uhm. Do you want to hang out again tomorrow Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru breathes deeply. "If you want to, sure."

Sakura smiles. "Yeah, I'd like that. How about we get dinner tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that'll work." Shikamaru puts a hand on her back and runs softly. "I had fun today, Sakura."

Sakura giggles. "I did too. Well. I better get going. I have a few things to do."

"Alright. See you later, Sakura." Shikamaru abruptly hugs her. She is somewhat taken back before returning the hug.

"O-oh. Okay. Well. Good bye Shikamaru."

"Bye Sakura."

The two part ways and a large smile breaks across both their faces as they part.

_**End Of Chapter Four!**_

_**I hope you enjoyed things so far. I will be updating as often as possible. Please leave feedback and don't be shy to send me your opinions! I would love to hear them!**_


	5. Chapter Five: One Drink Too Many

Shikamaru spends the rest of the day relaxing, and over all just being lazy around the "Hidden Leaf". He eats at "Ichiraku Ramen" and later runs into Kiba, who convinces him to go out, drinking with him, Shino, Choji, Izumo, and Kotetsu. Shikamaru goes home and catches a nap before he has to meet the guys. They will be meeting around ten p.m. at the same barbecue place as last time. Shikamaru sleeps restfully and at nine-thirty, he gets ready and leaves. The streets tonight were very alive and music could be heard all around. Friday's in the "Hidden Leaf" always have a good night life.

On his way there, Ino catches up with him. "Hey Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru stops walking and turns around. "Oh. Ino. What's up?"

They walk side by side. "Nothing much. Where are you headed?"

"Dinner with the guys again. Kiba wouldn't take no for an answer. What a drag."

"Oh don't be like that. You know you're gonna have fun."

Shikamaru smirks and shrugs. "Yeah, probably. What are you up to?"

"Me and Hinata had to run a few errands for Lady Tsunade. They took a lot longer than expected."

There is a few seconds of silence.

"So did you have fun with Sakura today?"

After a few seconds of silence, he replies. "Yeah. We only spent about ten-twenty minutes together. But yeah, it wasn't bad."

"That's good. Are you two... a "thing"?"

Shikamaru looks curious. "No. We're not. Why?"

Her expression becomes somewhat sad. "Are you sure? I mean, wasn't today a date?"

Shikamaru raises an eyebrow. "No. Not that I'm aware of. Why? What does it matter, Ino?"

Ino blushes but looks away to hide it from him. "No reason!" After a few seconds of silence, Ino's expression turns to one of anger. "Why are you spending so much time with billboard brow anyway!?"

Shikamaru scoffs. "Ino, chill out. I'm hanging out with her because she's nice and one of the few women I don't find unbearably annoying." He looks away and sighs. Even though Shikamaru is a genius on many levels, he can't seem to pick up on women's emotions well.

Minutes go by as an awkward silence fills the air between the two. Ino lets out a deep sigh. "Sorry Shikamaru. I just..." She seems to struggle to find words. "... I don't think you to would work as a pair. Like, boyfriend and girlfriend."

"I thank you for the concern, but we're not dating, okay?"

Ino breathes deeply once again. "Okay. Fine. I have to go here, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later."

Ino takes a turn and Shikamaru keeps walking. He is almost at the restaurant. He enters and he hears everyone except Shino call out his name. "Shikamaru!" They already ordered the food and drinks, which are arriving now. Shikamaru walks over and takes a seat next to Izumo, who is next to Kotetsu and across from the other three.

"Hey Shikamaru! How have you been? It's been a few weeks!" Kotetsu says as he pours some sake for the both of them.

Izumo is struggling to cook some beef while Choji laughs. Kiba has already taken his first drink. Shino is pouring some sake of his own. He seems to be more friendly tonight.

"Sheesh, didn't think you'd miss me that much Kotetsu."

"Well, after that last mission where you saved us, yeah. Izumo and I still owe you. That's why the drinks are on us tonight!" Kotetsu holds up a drink and Izumo join. Shikamaru puts one up and then Choji and Kiba join in.

Izumo blurts out: "Here's to Shikamaru's lazy ass! At least he's useful sometimes!"

All of them laugh and Shino holds up a glass also. "Humph. To Shikamaru."

Everyone looks kind of shocked at Shino joining in. They click the glasses together and drink. Over the next hour, the group is over all loud and obnoxious. This isn't really a problem as the restaurant is already quite loud.

Kotetsu looks at Shikamaru. "Hey, what was jutsu you made? The one where you shadow split, came off the ground and was shaped like you?"

Shikamaru smiles. "That's my newest jutsu so far. "Hidden Leaf Style: Shadow Impersonation". Rather proud of that one actually."

Kotetsu looks envious. "Is that a clone jutsu?"

"No, the "beings" have to be connected to the shadows. They can't disconnect."

Shino takes another drink. "Is that really useful?"

Once again, everyone is kind shocked.

"I actually recently invented a wide array of new shadow jutsu. In fact, I created a few new one's so when I go on my first mission under "Team Kakashi", I'll have something to show off."

Everyone begins eating and drinking more. After another hour, everyone pays the bill and they leave. Before hand, they decided to go and have some "fun". By fun, they mean, stir up some trouble, and everyone is too inebriated to think correctly. They go to the "Hokage's Mansion" and go to the roof. Kiba brought the remaining sake with them. They all take a shot and Kiba has an idea.

"Hey, this is goning to be fun. How about some "Drunken Ninja Parkour"?

Izumo and Kotetsu instantly jump aboard the idea. Shino and Choji are reluctant but eventually (after another shot) decide it'll be fun. They all get in place and on the count of three, jump of the railing and go full speed. Jumping off of signs, trees, carts, whatever will support them. Kiba let's out a loud "yahoooo!" which everyone except Shino imitates.

They go for about ten minutes. Occasionally pushing each other or softly punching one another. Shortly after the ten minute mark, Choji ends up landing on an not-so-sturdy sign and ends up falling down onto a cart that contained some fruit and vegetables. Everyone laughs, non-stop for several minutes. Choji lets out a joking cry. "No! Precious food! How could I do this to you!?"

Choji quickly gets up and flees and the group continues. He is eating a apple from the cart. This time, the next incident only takes five minutes. Izumo mines a gap and as he reaches the other side, his foot just barely misses the ledge and he falls and rips through a cloth shroud above a vase stand. Except this time, the owner was still in the stall. He falls and breaks half the merchandise. The lady screams and runs from Izumo. The group sees this, laughs for a moment, and then flees.

"Man! Izumo's next paycheck is going to be abysmal!" Kotetsu says as they continue their parkour.

"Yeah, if that'd would have been me... Oh man, what a drag." Shikamaru looks around. Shino seems to have vanished. It is now just Kiba, Choji, Shikamaru and Kotetsu. They decide to head back toward the "Hokage's Mansion." On their way back, Kiba tosses Shikamaru the last of the sake. He catches it and finishes it.

"Yo! Kiba, thanks! That hit the sp-"

Shikamaru jumps and lands on a railing. He attempts to jump off, but slips and doesn't get much out of the jump.

"Oh shiiit!"

Shikamaru, seemingly luckily, ends up landing right into an open window. He lands face first in a bedroom, with a very loud noise. He sits up, holding his head. A light turns on.

"Shikamaru!? What are you doing here!?"

Shikamaru turns his head and sees Sakura in a tank top and her underwear. His eyes widen and his mouth is agape.

"S-Sakura...!?"

_**End Of Chapter Five!**_

_**I hope you enjoyed things so far. I will be updating as often as possible. Please leave feedback and don't be shy to send me your opinions! I would love to hear them!**_


	6. Chapter Six: The Morning After

Shikamaru and Sakura stare at each other with a blank, shocked expression. Neither can formulate a proper response. Shikamaru slowly gets up. He notices Sakura's attire, which shows a lot more skin than her usual clothes. He blushes and backs up a bit. As he fumbles his words in his mind, his mouth speaks words not matching his thoughts. "Uh, what... what are you doing here?"

Sakura gives him a look of confusion. After a moment she looks down at herself and lets out a screech of embarrassment. "Shikamaru!" She throws her pillows at him, which, in her hands, hit him like a soccer ball to the chest. He stumbles backwards and loses his balance, sending him out the second story window. He desperately tries to grab on to something. That "something" happens to be a sign of the store below that has a jagged nail sticking out of it. He hangs for a moment and lands on his feet, his hand bleeding somewhat profusely. The nail pierced deeply through his palm.

"Shit!" The shock of pain was enough to snap some sobriety into him. Sakura peeks her head out the window as Shikamaru flees the scene. He climbs the building opposite Sakura's house. Kotetsu, Choji, and Kiba can be seen in the near distance, laughing. Shikamaru catches up with them. They see he is bleeding.

"Shit man, what happened to you?" Kotetsu asks as he looks at his hand.

"I fell through a window into a woman's bed room."

Everyone laughs and smiles. Kiba asks: "Was she hot?"

Shikamaru returns their smile with a grimace. "It was Sakura's room."

They all laugh some more. Kiba covers his mouth. "Shit, some luck, huh!?" Choji has a big smile. "Aren't you guys dating or something?"

Shikamaru's frown deepens. "No, we're not." Everyone picks up on his hostility. They decide to drop the subject. They take Shikamaru to get his hand looked at. They spend a about an hour the the hospital. Shikamaru had to get two stitches. Nothing serious. They wrap up his hand and send him on his way. He returns home and goes to bed. The others do the same.

Shikamaru gets home at about 2 a.m. and lays down. His mind is restless. He stares at the ceiling for what seems like an eternity before he finally drifts of in the peaceful respite that is sleep.

The next morning, when Shikamaru wakens around noon, he takes a shower and redresses his hand. Afterward he drinks some coffee his father, Shikaku, made earlier that morning. He lounges around for a bit in the living room. After about an hour or so, there is a knock at the door. With a deep sigh, Shikamaru walks over to the door and opens it.

On the other side of the door is Sakura. Shikamaru sees this and quickly tries to close the door. Sakura holds it open. "Shikamaru!" He sighs again and opens the door. "Come to lecture me?"

"No, I can to see if you were alright. I looked out the window and saw you running away on the rooftops. How bad did you get hurt?"

He holds up his hand. "I had to get a few stitches because there was shortage of Medical Nin present."

She looks at his hand, holding it. She unwraps the bandage and examines it. "This is all you walk away with? I thought for sure you would have been hurt a bit more from that fall, smelling of Sake as you were."

Shikamaru turns slightly red and scoffs. "I had some Sake, so?"

She smiles wryly. "Stop being so thick skulled. I trying to show you some compassion you bastard." She giggles softly. Shikamaru crosses his arms. "Well thanks. Sorry for that entire incident."

Sakura takes a step inward. "It's fine, can I come in?" After a moment, Shikamaru nods yes. They take a seat on the couch. She sees his cup with coffee in it. "Didn't think you be the coffee drinking type."

Shikamaru picks up the cup and put a tape in the VCR in front of them. "Yeah, it's a habit my dad got me into when I became a Chunin." He turns on the TV and a movie staring Yukie Fujikaze, a famous Actress that Naruto once saved along with the original Team Kakashi. Sakura laughs at Shikamaru.

"You watch these movies?" Sakura asks through her laughing. Shikamaru scowls. "Yeah, what of it. I like this movie."

"You sure it's not "Princess Gale" you like watching?" Sakura begins laughing more. Shikamaru just turns the volume up. They watch the movie for a bit and then Sakura brings up the "Ninja Clash In the Land of Snow" and how Sakura was apart of it. Shikamaru knew of it, but not every detail. She ends up telling him the entire story, which takes about half an hour. The entire time, Shikamaru has a look of deep interest on his face.

"Well, never knew about how the Land of Snow is now the Land of Spring. You and Naruto always get some crazy missions."

After they talk for a bit more, Shikamaru walks to the kitchen and gets Sakura some iced tea and they talk some more. Sakura eventually asks if she can cook something for them. Shikamaru is a bit skeptical but lets her continue.

"So what do you have the ingredients for? Want anything in particular?" She begins looking through the cupboards. Shikamaru leans against the counter. "I'm not sure. What are you in the mood for?"

"I don't know, want something baked? Like, cookies, or something?"

Shikamaru smiles. "Yeah, something like that sounds good." Sakura begins gathering what she needs. Eggs, Milk, Flour, Sugar, Baking Chocolate, and other various ingredients. Sakura whips together some vanilla batter. She decided to make a small cake. Sakura is prepares the pans and the oven. As she is stirring it, she takes out the spoon and taps Shikamaru's nose with it. He dodges his head backward and wipes the batter away. He dips his fingers in the batter and drips it on her face.

"Hah! This looks worse than it really is." Sakura looks confused for a second and then makes a slightly grossed out faced. "Eww! You perv!" Sakura pushes him away but he pulls he with him. They begin to play around. Shikamaru eventually puts more batter on her face. She struggles against him. They both are laughing and having fun. She runs toward the door. He puts more batter on his fingers.

Sakura is near the front door. "Stop Shikamaru! You already got it all over my face, I don't wanna get it in my hair!" She turns around and the door is open. Shikamaru's mother, Yoshino, is standing there with a bag of groceries. She gives Sakura a strange look. She speechless. Shikamaru come running around the corner and sees Sakura and his mom. Yoshino looks at Shikamaru with a disgusted look.

"I really don't want to know what's going on here." Shikamaru and Sakura blush deeply and reply at the same time. "No, it's not what it looks like. It's batter!" "Eww! It's not like that"

Yoshino looks at Shikamaru's fingers and lets out a deep sigh of relief. "I'm glad I didn't just walk in on what I thought I did. Anyway, Shikamaru, you should told me your having female company over." Yoshino walks to the kitchen and puts away the groceries. Shikamaru leans against the counter and Sakura continues baking again. Yoshino lends a hand after she finishes with the groceries. After everything's done. Sakura's Strawberry Vanilla cake came out pretty well. Yoshino has a piece and sits down on the couch and reads a magazine. Shikamaru and Sakura sit outside and eat.

"Well, that was a bit of an awkward situation."

"You were the one who put the batter all over my face."

Shikamaru laughs. "You can't say you didn't enjoy it. I saw you laughing."

Sakura smiles wryly. "Take me to dinner at least." Shikamaru turns a bit red and laughs. Sakura does the same. "Well, what do you wanna do know? It's only two p.m. and I still have a few free hours."

Shikamaru thinks. "I'm not sure. Got anything in mind?"

Sakura blushes some more. "We have our first mission coming up soon. Maybe we should have a practice match?"

Shikamaru looks at her. "You sure about that?"

"Yeah! It'll be fun! I wanna see what your capable of."

"I suppose we can go train for a bit. Right now?"

"Yeah. Let's go." She gets up. "Oh, I'm not going to hold back, so you should either."

He get's up, rubbing his shoulder. "Don't you worry about that. This maybe a drag, but I'm gonna show you what me and my shadows can do..."

They looks at each other intently and begin walk to the training field from Team Kakashi's first session. Shikamaru has a tense, but ready look on his face. Sakura looks relaxed but on the inside she's trying to come up with a plan. She wants to show him how strong she really is. Shikamaru can be a bit of a harsh critic sometimes. His approval would make her quite happy.

_**End Of Chapter Six!**_

_**Sorry for the wait! I had a lot of issues with my computer that haven't been fully cleared up yet! I will try to update but I don't want to disappoint you guys so I can't give you a good date.. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review, your criticism and praise are very precious to me!**_


	7. Chapter Seven: The Flower Begins To Bud

Shikamaru and Sakura make their way toward the training field. There is a strange, tenseness between them. They are mostly silent during their transit. Sakura has her hands behind her back and is looking down at the ground. Shikamaru has his hands behind his head and is looking up. Both seem to be trying to find something to say, unsuccessfully. They finally arrive at the training field and they both prepare. They are both in casual clothes. Shikamaru is wearing a button up t-shirt with a somewhat large collar and the Nara clan symbol on the back and a long sleeve mesh shirt underneath. He is also wearing a pair of black pants. Sakura has a pair of black short shorts and a red, sleeveless t-shirt. Her hair is up in a ponytail.

"So, how we gonna do this?" Shikamaru asks with a slightly tense tone.

"I'm not sure. I guess we fight until one of us can't continue." Sakura cracks her knuckles.

Shikamaru readies himself. "Alright. When do we start?"

Sakura dashes toward him and tries to punch him. "Now!"

Shikamaru dodges backwards up one of the three posts that are in the middle of the field. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" His shadow extends and rockets toward Sakura who runs just out of the range of his shadow. "Hah! Gonna have to try harder than that!"

She dashes toward him again and punches the post he is on, smashing it. He jumps to the other post. "Shadow Stitching Jutsu!" His shadow come off the ground and wraps around her waist and throws her across the field. She skids and slides across the ground on her feet. They pause and look at eachother. Over the next hour, a few Genin and some of their friends like Kiba and Ino gather to watch. It is a very back and forth battle. Sakura ends up getting a few good hits on Shikamaru, bruising his cheek and his arm pretty badly.

"Damn... Your punches definitely hurt Sakura... tomorrow morning is going to be such a drag." Shikamaru is rubbing his shoulder while standing on a tree branch. Sakura is stand halfway across the field. She scoffs. "You should be happy I haven't broken any of your bones yet."

Shikamaru winces in pain for a second. The truth is she has, he's just been hiding it. "Well, this is when I break out my "real" jutsu."

Sakura laughs in a pontificating way. "Real, huh?"

"Yeah... here we go..." Shikamaru makes a hand sign and the shadow of the tree becomes a large, solid clawed hand. It raises up in the air and looms over Sakura. "Shadow Crushing Palm Justu!" The hand slams down and the claws dig into the ground, the palm almost crushing Sakura, who is struggling to hold it up.

"N-nice try Shikamaru!" Shikamaru smirks and the hand closes shut into a fist. It raises up and crushes more. After a few moments, Sakura forcefully opens the hand, prying the fingers apart with sheer strength. "Ha! Nice try!" She jumps out and the hand crushes once again. After missing again, the shadow recedes. Sakura escaped with no visible damage. She charges at him. "My turn!"

Her fists glow brightly with chakra as they smash into the side of the tree and sends it into the air. Shikamaru jumps onto the front of the tree as it fly upward. Sakura jumps up and spins the tree for a moment before flinging it toward the ground. Shikamaru runs up the tree toward Sakura and tackles her. They slam to the ground. He is pinning her to the ground. Sakura once again laughs as her arms glow brightly with chakra. Shikamaru does another hand sign as his shadow begins overlaying her and digging into the ground multiple times. He is straddling her and holding this hand sign. Sakura whole body begins to glow more and more. The ground around them begins to crack and weaken.

Both are trying as hard as possible to overtake the other. This struggle continues until the ground begins to crumble and Sakura manages to break free. She delivers a punch to Shikamaru, who was blocking with both arms across his face, that breaks his right ulna (outer forearm bone) and sends him flying twenty feet. He lands on his feet and skids across the ground.

"Damn it! This hurts so bad!" Shikamaru thinks to himself as he winces and pants from the pain. Sakura emerges from the hole and slowly begins walking toward Shikamaru, who struggle to make a hand sign. "Alright Sakura. You forced my hand." Shikamaru makes a rapid flurry of hand signs and ending on his usual shadow hand sign. "Shadow Impersonation Jutsu!"

Shikamaru's shadow splits into two and form to solid black clones of him, which are attached to him via shadow. "Here we go!"

Sakura charges at Shikamaru and his shadows charge back. The two contact and begins exchanging blows. No matter how hard Sakura hits, the clones don't stop their assault. Sakura ends up getting banged up pretty bad by them.

"How are they so strong!?" Sakura shouts. Kiba and the others are surprised by Shikamaru's clones.

Kakashi provides an explanation. "They aren't clones, but solid shadow puppets. You can't destroy a shadow by punching it. This gives Shikamaru a rather steep advantage. Now, if Sakura had chidori or other lighting techniques, it may be a much different story." Neji crosses his arms. "I never knew Shikamaru had such capabilities and endurance." Kiba laughs. "The size of the dog in the fight doesn't matter. It's the size of the fight in the dog that does."

Sakura continues trying to break through the shadow defense with little luck. After a while, she manages to sneak by and charge right at Shikamaru. This causes Shikamaru to dodge backwards and flee. The shadows follow. Just as Sakura is about to deliver a full strength punch to Shikamaru, his shadows wrap around her waist and suspend her in mid air.

Shikamaru is breathing deeply and struggling to hold the jutsu. "Sakura... you've been one tough customer, I'll give you that." Shikamaru's shadow weakens. "But you win. I quit." His shadow lowers her and she lands on her feet. "You just... quit?" Sakura crosses her arms. "Well, I should've known this is how it would have ended." Sakura walks over to Shikamaru and examines her right arm.

"You really withstood such a strong punch with only a single broken bone." Shikamaru nods. "Yeah, well, no. I broke a rib too." Sakura looks a little guilty. "Sorry Shikamaru." "It's fine, it was just part of the fight. Don't worry about it."

Sakura begins to administer healing jutsu and the other walk over. Ino, Neji, Kiba, and Kakashi.

"Well you two really went toe to toe. Both of you developed quite far." Kakashi's expression is one of happiness. "I believe our time as a team will be quite interesting." Kiba smacks Shikamaru on the back and Neji gives him approving nod. Ino looks mad but keeps it to herself and leaves the group.

After ten minutes of healing, Shikamaru's arm and ribs are mostly healed, but Sakura advises him to rest still. Shikamaru says goodbye to everyone and decides to leave. Sakura runs after him.

She walks him back to his house to rest for what's left of they day. She decides to spend a few more hours with him. They arrive home and she helps him to his room. He unlocks his bedroom door and Sakura looks into his room. It is not fitting of a genius. There are clothes scattered about, several movie posters, and a few magazines on his desk, which he walks over to and puts away. Sakura looks curious.

"Hey, what were those?"

"Nothing important." He turns around. Sakura walks over and tries to force him out of the way. She's giggling and playing while Shikamaru is somewhat serious. After a few moments, Sakura moves him out of the way and looks into the desk drawer. One of the magazines are titled "Make-Out Magazine" and the covers depicts scantly clad nurses on one and the other is a erotic anime magazine. Sakura is slightly shocked.

"Nurses... and hentai?" Shikamaru rushes over and tries to pry the magazines from her hands. Unfortunately, he is to weak at the moment to do anything as such. "Gah! You're such a pain in the ass." Shikamaru blushes.

Sakura giggles and turns red a bit. "What...? Embarrassed I know you like hentai?" Sakura pushes him playfully. "I know your pervy little secret. Hehehe" She thinks to herself for a moment. "I... kinda like hentai too... So don't worry..." There is a silence for a moment and then Sakura sits down and begins thumbing through the magazines. Shikamaru is slightly shocked.

"Uh... What are you doing?" "Reading this magazine, why?""It's a magazine full of naked women." "Pfft. Oh come on, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

There is a awkward silence for a few minutes as Sakura reads. After a bit, she puts them away. "Your taste in women isn't to bad I guess." She giggles. "So... Got a thing for nurses?" Shikamaru turns bright red. "N-no!Choji gave me those as a strange gift. He just came over with them and left em here."

"Okay, sure. Come on, I know you were trying to look up my skirt at the hospital." Sakura gets in his face as she speaks. Shikamaru turns extremely red and thinks to himself. "H-how in the hell did she know!?"

Sakura notices his expression and turns red herself. "Wait! You really were!? S-Shikamaru..."

Shikamaru mentally face palms. "No. I wasn't." "Your blushing says otherwise." After a moment, Shikamaru admits it. "Yes... I looked up your skirt, Sakura." Sakura looks slightly embarrassed. "Uh... Shikamaru... D-did you... do you..." Sakura blushes intensely. There is a silence between them. He looks her in the eyes. Sakura looks back. There is a strange warmth coursing through both of their bodies. Both are speechless. Both are blushing very brightly.

_**End Of Chapter Seven!**_

_**Sorry for the wait! I'm trying to update more regularly from now on. I am terribly sorry for making you guys wait for so long! It's just tough to update with my schedule as full as it. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review, your criticism and praise are very precious to me!**_


	8. Chapter Eight: Small Blossoms

_**Attention! I have updated the previous chapter. Please reread, thank you!**_

Shikamaru and Sakura are staring into each others eyes. Both are blushing deeply and have a strange warmth coursing through them. After a few moments of silence, Sakura mutters a few words. "S-Shikamaru... Do you... like me...?"

Shikamaru hears these words and panics. "N-no...! I mean... that's not what I ment! Sakura..." Shikamaru looks very frustrated.

"Shikamaru... you d-don't like me...?"Shikamaru looks mad now. "That's not what I said, I just..." Shikamaru buries his face in his hands. "I don't know what to say." Sakura looks down. "Yes or no?"

"Yes... sorta..." "Sorta?" Shikamaru makes her look him in the face. "I kinda like you, yeah. I'm just not one hundred percent positive." Sakura looks disappointed. "You don't know...?" After a few seconds of silence, Sakura forces herself upon him and kisses him. The kiss is very passionate, using her soft, small lips to caress his, and she lets out a soft, moan (non-sexual, for now) of excitement. Her arms are around his neck and his hands are in a defensive position, as if he wants to push away, but isn't. The kiss last a few seconds and Sakura pulls away. She looks him in the face. He is beat red now. Sakura is also.

After a few seconds, Shikamaru takes a step back. "S-Sakura... w-well..." Sakura is smiling a shy smile. "How do you feel now...?"

Shikamaru's head is filled with all sorts of emotions. Half of him really enjoyed it, yet half of him is displeased. "I-I don't know... I..."

"Did you enjoy it...?" "Y-yeah...just..." "Just what?" "I don't know... just... let me think about it." Sakura is holding back her disappointment. Shikamaru can tell she really likes him. He thinks as well as he can in such a tight position. "Well Shikamaru... Sakura just kissed you... There no going back now... If I do, our friendship will never be the same again... It's not like I didn't enjoy it... I dunno what it is. She so cute, so sweet. Her lips were so soft... so..." A shiver runs down Shikamaru's spine. "Damn it, I'm so screwed. Well, I don't have much of a choice now I guess, no doubt she noticed that shiver. I guess I'm dating Sakura now. Well, damn, better not screw this up." Shikamaru's thoughts end as he mutters the words. "I did really like it Sakura... I like you... Sakura."

Sakura blushes very intensely and smiles very brightly. She hugs Shikamaru, who hugs back softly. "So, um... are we dating now?" Shikamaru makes a curious face. "I suppose...? We only kissed, let's take things as they come along, okay?" Sakura smiles. "Okay."

They spend the next few hours just resting, watching movies, Shikamaru draws a little. There are no other romantic acts for the day until Sakura leaves. Just as she's leaving, she gives him a quick peck on the cheek and closes the front door. Shikamaru walks back to his room and lays down. "So... I guess I've got a girlfriend now... well, what else kinda trouble am I going to get myself into."

Shikamaru looks around his room, it's about eight p.m. and it's starting to get dark out. He notices a figure out of the corner of his eye at the window. He quickly looks over but sees nothing. "I must be seeing things. " He looks out the window and sees a anbu looking at him from across the street on a rooftop.

_**(Attention! If you are interested This will be a side-story within the main story. The more favorites, follows, and reviews this story gets, the more "Bonus Chapters" I will post, creating a secondary story revolving around a strange Anbu member and a Akatsuki impersonater. It is not vital to the core story of "Intelligent Combination", but a intriguing story that your opinions will alter and change the outcome of the series of events that encompasses this side-story. Thank**** you!")**_

The figures dashes off and Shikamaru gets a series of chills down his spine. For the time being, there is nothing he can do beside close the window and try not to freak out. As he lays back down, his mind fills with thoughts of Sakura. "I can't get her out of my head. Sheesh, what a drag." Shikamaru decides to read one of his magazines and then take a shower. Afterward it is almost midnight. His parents have already gone to bed and there isn't a lot to do. Since he isn't really sleepy, he decides to take a walk, but not before grabbing his vest and kunai knives.

He wanders around, trying to find something interesting do. The streets are still somewhat lively this late at night. As he's making his way down main street, he sees Kotetsu at a bar and he sits next to him.

"Kotetsu. What's up?" Kotetsu looks over. "Shikamaru! Good to see you. What are you up to?" "Nothing, just can't sleep. Saw you over here, looked lonely, thought I'd keep you company." Kotetsu laughs. "Funny, actually, I'm here with Izumo and Kiba. Kiba's in the bathroom and Izumo ran home to grab some extra ryo." "Ahh, so how have things been?"

"Good, I heard about your match with Sakura today." "Ahh, did yah? What did you hear?" "That you put up a fight but your lazy ass quit in the end." Kotetsu laughs and Shikamaru softly punches him in the arm. "Yeah yeah." "So... are you to dating yet or what? Did you give her the ol' kunai in her shuriken yet?"

Shikamaru hits Kotetsu a bit harder. "No, we might be dating, but no, we haven't had sex yet. I don't even know if it'll develop that far yet."

"So you are dating?" "I dunno, we kissed, that's it." "Hell, man, you're as good as married. Might as well hang up your manhood already." Kotetsu laughs and Shikamaru pushes him somewhat playfully. "Your funny, Kotetsu. Jackass." "What? What'd I say, it's true." Kiba returns and sits next to Shikamaru after greeting him.

"Isn't that right Kiba?" "Huh?" "Shika here, kissed Sakura, he's as good as married, huh?" "Shit dude, you might as well have put a ring on her finger. You're screwed, dude." Everyone laughs. "Yeah, screw you two also." Kiba grins. "Glad you finally made a fucking move man. Only took how many years?" "I didn't do anything, she kissed me."

"Dude, she wants the ol' kunai, I'm telling you." Shikamaru smacks Kotetsu on the head. Kiba laughs at him.

"I have no intentions of doing that anytime soon. I did that with Shizune and we weren't even dating. It made everything really awkward. I'm only gonna give her the "kunai" when I feel ready." Kotetsu shrugs. "Whatever you say man." After a few minutes, Shikamaru decides to head home. He says goodbye and goes home and to bed.

_**End Of Chapter Eight!**_

_**How are you guy's liking things so far? Happy with the direction things are going? Please, tell me what you think, I love hearing your opinions. Good, or bad. Thank you so much for all the support and love. If you wanna see more of this, let me hear it! Thanks!**_


	9. Chapter Nine: Make It Offical

The next day, Shikamaru wakes up and yawns as he sits up. After a moment, his expression turns sour. Today was sunday, his last day off. Tomorrow he would return to being assigned missions and continue his duty as a Leaf Village Shinobi. Shikamaru stands up and looks around his room. A small smile spreads across his face. He just remembered he will be a part of Team 7. At least he'd have some new faces to look forward to. Shikamaru throws on a shirt and decides to getsome breakfast.

Of coarse, he didn't feel like cooking anything, so he decided to just eat cereal. As he sits down to eat, there is a knock at the door. "Ugh... man, I just sat down..." Shikamaru, begrudgingly, picks up his cereal and walks to the front door. As he takes a bite, he looks out the peep hole. There is no one to be seen. "Huh? Some stupid kid's prank...?" He turns around to walk away and the knocking retuns. He sighs again and opens the door. When he looks out, he once again sees nothing. "Grrr... Damn it." Shikamaru turns around and sees a blur of pink. Sakura is now right in front of him. He lets out a quite scream and drops his bowl. "Damn it!" Shikamaru steps back against the door and puts a hand on his chest.

"S-Shikamaru. You okay?" Sakura says while laughing. Shikamaru takes a deep breathe and relaxes. "Damn it, you scared the hell out of me!" Sakura giggles. "Sorry Shikamaru, I didn't mean to make drop your cereal. Hehehe." Sakura bends over and picks up the bowl. "I'll clean it up for you." Shikamaru and Sakura walk to the kitchen. Sakura finds a rag and wipes up the mess. Shikamaru sits down and pours another bowl of cereal. "Your faster than I thought, Sakura." She sits down across from him. "Hehe, yeah, I'm surprised you didn't see me." A silence fills the room for a moment. Sakura opens her mouth in an attempt to speak, but nothing comes out. Shikamaru watche her soft, pink lips intently with a very slight blush. "U-uh... were you going to say something... Sakura?"

Sakura makes a aggitated face. She seems to be mulling her words in her head. After a few seconds, Sakura finds the words she was looking for. "S-Shikamaru... um... about yesterday..." Shikamaru blushes more and looks away. "Y-yeah...?" Sakura blushes much more. "Um... about the kiss. Are we... dating now...? I mean offically." Shikamaru is filled with warmth as his face turns the deepest red it has yet. He is filled with a sense of accomplishment. "U-uh... of coarse, Sakura..." A huge smiles slowly spreads across Sakura's face. Shikamaru, in turn, smiles softly. He loved her smile. He thought she was so adorable when she is happy. She reaches her hand out and grabs his. They both look into each other's eyes. Sakura gets up and walks around the table. She puts one hand on Shikamaru's face and kisses his lips very softly.

Afterward, Sakura giggles and hugs Shikamaru. "Well, I just stopped by to talk to you about that. I have to get going. I'm already late for a doctor's appointment I have today." Sakura kisses Shikamaru on the cheek and quickly walks toward the front door. "Bye boyfriend, hehehe." Shikamaru laughs and waves goodbye. The door shuts and the house is once again filled with silence. Shikamaru decides to get dressed and spend a few hours getting ready for tomorrow.

_**End Of Chapter Nine!**_

_**Sorry this chapter was short guys and gals! I was pressed for time and started writing someother stories I'm currently working on! I hope you enjoy! Show me some love!**_


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